Live video stream for UFC 169, today at 4 p.m. ET. The event takes place at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., and features co-main event participants Jose Aldo and Ricardo Lamas, as well as main event competitors Renan Barao and Urijah Faber, just to name a few.

Shamrock (@ShamrockKen) is considered one of the forefathers of MMA. When the sport came on the scene, Shamrock can be credited as one of the first combatants with a legitimate martial arts base. Having fought fellow icons such as Royce Gracie and Bas Rutten, plus many more throughout his illustrious career, Shamrock is about as experienced as it gets when talking MMA.

Miocic (@smiocic) is coming of a victory over Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC on Fox 10. The UFC heavyweight is currently on a two-fight win streak, after suffering his first career set back against Stefan Struve in September 2012.

Makdessi (@JohnMakdessiMMA) competes on Feb. 1 at UFC 169 against Alan Patrick. The UFC lightweight is currently on a three-fight win streak, most recently coming off a KO victory over Renee Forte at UFC 165 in September.

Makdessi discussed proper training, both mentally and physically. His home gym of Tristar, which houses every fighter on”TUF: Nations: Canada vs. Australia.” As well as marketing and exposure, and what has to be done to compete outside his native Canada.

Kelly provides a recap of “UFC on Fox 10,” and a preview of UFC 169, along with a brief run through of the top stories in MMA.

Aguilar (@Jagatt) recently won the inaugural WSOF title, when she defeated Alida Gray at WSOF 8. The Mexican-born fighter signed with WSOF following a lengthy stint in Bellator, despite rumors Aguilar was intending to join the Invicta FC roster.

D’Souza (@Thracian_Books) is the author of “Pound for Pound: The Modern Gladiators of Mixed Martial Arts” and contributes frequently to Cagepotato.com. As a respected journalist in MMA, D’Souza will have some unique insight on covering the sport we all know and love.

Alvey (@smilinsam) is scheduled to defend his MFC belt on May 9 at MFC 40. His opponent is not yet revealed, but as a humorous and personable mixed martial artist, Alvey always proves to be a fun guest.

Pavelich (@MarkPavelich) is coming off a successful show at MFC 39, which took place Friday in Edmonton, Alberta, and he is already set for MFC 40. Aside from gearing up for his 15th year in the sport, the MFC president recently made comments that 2014 is a do-or-die year. With Toronto and Las Vegas in Pavelich’s sights this year, the Canadian promoter has announced that he will walk away from the sport if he does not conquer certain goals before the year’s end.

Birchak (@abirchakmma) is everything a budding MMA superstar should be. Along with holding the MFC bantamweight belt and putting on two outstanding performances in the MFC cage, Birchak is ever improving and proven company man. The Arizonian will defend his title at MFC 40, but as Birchak often shares on MMA Cypher, we will surely hear about his family bout that is ongoing with his brother, who happens to be a standout NCAA wrestler.

Darce Side Radio’s Michael Stets (@Michael_Stets) joins us as well to discuss MMA and his duties at MMAmania.com.

We will also preview and review the latest in the MMA world, as well as talk about “KOTD: Blackout 4,” which is a rap battle tournament MMA Cypher’s own Charron will compete in on Jan. 24-25 at the Opera House in Toronto, Ontario.

After mothering women’s MMA for a decade, Julie Kedzie wants to drop knowledge on a child of her own.

Kedzie (Twitter: @julesk_fighter) first tested her mettle in pro MMA in March 2004, when she secured an armbar victory in Round 2 against Terry Blair at Hook-N-Shoot. Nearly 10 years later, after fighting the other veterans in WMMA, competing in Strikeforce and eventually the UFC, Kedzie retired from mixed martial arts and immediately became the Invicta FC matchmaker.

Kedzie, who is highly respected among both women and men in the sport, is the perfect fit for the promotion, also acting as Invicta’s color commentator. Her experience and relationships in MMA, coupled with her stature in the sport, should help Kedzie conduct business with ease and create outstanding bouts. While promoting women’s MMA is Kedzie’s priority, she has a growing agenda.

“In my personal life, I want to have a kid,” Kedzie told Jason Kelly and Joe Rizzo on MMA DieHards Radio. “I really want a kid. I’m not really good at boyfriends or relationships; well, I haven’t been. I’m unfaithful, I’m scatter-brained, I’m not good at taking care of people, I’m a slob, I’m this, I’m that. But I know I would be a good mom.

“And I think my direction leads towards, you know, when I see all these Syrian orphans on TV — of course there’s people here, people that need to get adopted here in America, and that’s the first place I would look — but you see all these children with nobody to speak up for all of them, that would be cool. That would be cool to create a life where I could just help one kid out. Or two, or 10.”

Acting as a mother figure for up-and-coming female athletes over the years, Kedzie pioneered women’s MMA before today’s stars had the opportunity to shine in the UFC. She fought the best competition throughout her career, with the intent of bringing WMMA to the limelight.

While her name remains relevant and celebrated because of what Kedzie and others like her fought for in the early days, the New Mexico resident doesn’t have the fame some of her colleagues have garnered. Having never set out to achieve those goals, Kedzie is content with what she accomplished and feels her duties were fulfilled.

“I never achieved the ‘first woman in the UFC,’ Ronda Rousey. Gina Carano? I never achieved that, but I think I did what I was supposed to do,” Kedzie said. “I laid a foundation and that was my role in that. When I made the decision to move on, and now that I know it was the right decision, I’m really happy about it. I did all that and when these girls lose fights, I can say, ‘Yeah, I know what it feels like. Keep going.’ Because I do know what it’s like.”

Though it was tough work helping to carry WMMA from its infancy through maturation, Kedzie has no gripes about the journey that opened her sport up to the masses.

Even the leading MMA websites and magazines weren’t showcasing WMMA when Kedzie was coming up through the ranks. There was no Fox Sports 1 plugging female championship bouts. For years, all WMMA had was its competitors. The combatants within the sport were responsible for marketing and proving to all doubters that they belonged.

It was a tall order, but one Kedzie embraced.

“For me it was tremendous fun,” Kedzie said. “It was hard because my family did not understand it. They were like, ‘When are you going to go back to school?’ And I’d be like, ‘I’m going to go back to school, don’t worry.’ I got a job working for my cousin on the east coast just so people would stop asking me when I’m going to go back to school. But it was just so much fun because I knew it was what I was supposed to do. I knew I was going to be in the UFC.

“Back then, because it was such a struggle, it made it really fun. I had this mindset where I was going to prove it to everybody. I put this pressure on myself, partly because the pressure wasn’t there in terms of media and everybody looking at you, and it was mostly like it was self-generated pressure. And at the time it worked so well for me. I didn’t win every fight, but I was so happy to go back in the gym the day after a fight. It’s not like at the end here I’ve lost my drive, it’s just that then there was so much at stake.”

What fueled her in the beginning served as her obstacle in the end. However, she is walking away from WMMA competition with it in a positive place and some helpful lessons she can reiterate.

“I was motivated by not being angry at myself, but by being like, ‘You got this, (expletive) everybody. Go, go, go.’ ” Kedzie said. As I got older I had that, but I became very self-criticizing as well. You can use self-criticism to make yourself into a better fighter, which is what I did in my early days, and I think in my latter days in definitely worked against me.

“It was a good lesson to learn for life. I can apply these lessons to everyday life and if someday I have a daughter I can say, ‘You don’t want to puke your guts out every time you eat, because this is what can happen to you.’ I definitely learned some life lessons I can pass on.”